Santa's Village..... and other temptations

Wow, I just realized the other day how long it had been since I had updated this end of the world. I wish I could say that I had a wonderful amount of stitching progress and finishes to share with you all but I can't. I did enjoy quite a bit of reading and have two different books on the go right now. One was the last Monica Ferris stitching mystery, Threadbare and the other is Mauve Binchy's Whitethorn Woods. Trips to the library is definitely helping keep the budget under control in our house and between Becky and me, they local librarians are starting to recognize us as frequent borrowers. Becky is even talking about wanting to volunteer at the library over the summer because of her love of books and she is wanting to go into teaching which may be a good fit for her. Ray has been having good days and bad days still with the stress of the bullying he has been subject to in school but I'm hoping that he eventually calms down since a teacher's aide has been assigned to him for all but 1 hour a day. That class period has 2 teachers in the room and one keeps a close eye on him. Ray had to have 2 teeth removed this week that were baby teeth that had came in double behind his molars in the roof of his mouth and he is just starting to try eating softer solid foods.

One of the most recent designs which I fell in love with was Santa's Village by Country Cottage Needleworks.  I had hoped to wait until my Joan Elliott design is done but the stitching demon all of us battle on a daily basis was just screaming, "What is another stitching project going to hurt????" Of course, I want to make the village as a whole but I'm dreaming of little ornaments for me tree as well. I would love to do this over one but I'm not sure if my sanity or eyesight would hold out that long. I started this over one and realized really quick that if I wanted to be mobile without the aid of a white stick or a yellow dog that I would need to give up that idea, well at least over one of 32 count Jobelan. A friend of mine is working it on 25 count over one and I'll take a look at that to see if I think my eyes would survive or not. Initially this was going along swimmingly until I went to stitch on it one day after having a migraine behind my eyes. The next morning I realized I had been merrily stitching along making nice looking stitches which were all in the right locations, but in the wrong color! I guess my mind was looking at the chart and the symbols were reminding me of another project because I had done all the red in while. I guess this is one of the hazards of having many projects in progress at once. I am thinking that I'll do each of these pieces as separate panels and maybe look into making a wall hanging/quilt when I have all 12 stitched for a different type of holiday display.

Now the good news is I have been working on Dragon Dreams still and am definitely nearing the finish line. This piece is so pretty and while at the end I started getting stitches that moved all over the place on the design and required running threads behind stitches, it has been a fun stitch. The metallics are coming along and I'm very glad that it isn't a huge amount of stitches in their fiber but it is just enough to really add dimension to the overall piece. Backstitching is going to be started this week on the bottom of the dragon since I only have the head left to work on with metallics and I will probably want to make sure I have some quiet for that since it is a lot of fractional stitching. Once done, I will get it up to the Stitching Post for framing and I think I'll make my June deadline for Becky's middle school graduation.

I also picked up one of the new Lizzie Kate boxer sets (Yep, that resolution not to buy anything new went right out the window didn't it????) but I honestly have to say that it spoke to me. When you consider the roller coaster ride that is my life, you have to admit there is something about this one that just screams my name. When I saw it at my LNS the other day when hanging out with a friend, Kathy, we came across these new designs. Kathy bought two of them but this one just jumped in my hand and brought a smile to my face. There is so many times I have to wonder what God has planned in my life and if I am ready for it. I know you aren't supposed to question God's will but I'm human and sometimes it just slips unbidden in your head. I think I'll make this for a Christmas present or two because I just really like it and I know a few people that would appreciate it. I do promise this will not be started anytime soon though since I am wanting to finish up the Musician, Dragon Dreams and continue to keep up with the monthly releases of Santa's Village.

Otherwise, life has been a pattern of work, going through the basement and working on the bedrooms here in the house. I'm hoping to be ready for some painting in the kid's rooms next and to make their rooms their own little domains. Becky is into the fantasy stuff, unicorns, wizards, fairies and such but Ray hasn't really picked any specific thing which he is interested in so I'm thinking some Mario Bros, Baltimore Ravens and who knows what else to make his room is own.

Feeling blah.......

I guess I can't really complain since I have managed to make it through most of the winter pretty healthy but the latest cold snap in Maryland brought my upper respiratory system to a grinding halt which is pretty much par for the course. For the last 3 days I have been pretty much sitting around with my blanket pulled over my head just trying to get through the day. Would love to go to work but I have no voice and a wonderful racking cough which just makes me not a happy camper and I don't feel the need to share the crud with any of my office mates who I like working with anyway.

Dragon Dreams has been seeing some progress however and I think by sometime this weekend I'll be pulling out the Krenik and DMC Light Effects to start using them. While I was lucid during one of my stitching periods, I realized this design has 3 additional companion pieces which was published in Cross Stitch Gold book 93. Becky loves anything fantasy like this so I had to look up the designs to see what they looked like and I can see some further Joan Elliott stitching in my future. I love the colors of the phoenix especially ~ and I'm thinking I'll have to pick out some more over dyed fabric like the Sand Castle Jobelan 28-count hand dyed fabric I'm using by Wichelt Imports.

 

During the week I also worked on Innocent Guardian for a little bit but there isn’t much progress to report. Hopefully I can settle down and work on this some again in a day or two. I'm going to be working on varying shades of yellow for quite a bit of time it looks like since the entire underskirt on this design is open and so I am trying to work on this in rotation with my other projects so I don't get bored with it.

 

Finished up Ken Follett's “Winter of the World” and if you like Historical Fiction.....this is a book you MUST READ! The next book in the series, tentatively titled "Edge of Eternity" is due out in 2014 and I will anxiously be waiting for additional details. Currently I am working through Jennifer Chiaverini's "Sonoma Rose" which I received as a Christmas present. I love all of the Elm Creek series.

That is about all for this week so I think it is time to make a cup of hot tea and curl up in my favorite stitching spot for a bit.

Beauty and the Beast

Last weekend was s Stitch-A-Long weekend hosted by a Facebook group I belong to. Basically each stitcher picks a design they would like to put some time into and work on it throughout the weekend as much (or as little!) as you like. Of course, posting before and after pictures is part of the fun and everyone cheering each other on, along with creating stash envy is part of the fun. I decided this would be the weekend of Joan Elliot designs.... read on and you'll see what I'm talking about.

So I decided this was the weekend to pull the Musician back out into the rotation and to put some serious time into the chart. I hadn't worked on this piece since November since I had decided that with all the holiday preparation, it was easier to work on smaller projects. The great news is by the end of the weekend I had put in over 700+ stitches and even had to take her out of the Q-Snaps to get to another part of the fabric to continue working on the pattern. When I popped her out of the frame on Sunday night, I couldn't help by sit and stare at her for a minute or two just because I am so amazed that I have so much of her done and I'm thinking and hoping she will be my big finish for 2013. Checking back on my stitching, I started her in March 2011 so she is just under 2 years in progress at this point. Not bad when you consider I work her in a rotation and when I broke my ankle, I didn't work on this project during the recovery or rehabilitation.

Since my last update, I also worked on Dragon Dreams which I'm loving more with every stitch I take. The body is almost done and so I'm hoping to get started on the wings soon. While some may ask why my dragon is be-headed right now, it is because most of that stitching there is with filament and metallic threads so I'm saving that for last.

Another stitchy thing I participated in Sunday afternoon was meeting with the designers of Queenstown Samplers and Samplers Revisited which live within an hour of my house. Both of these ladies are collectors of antique needlework samplers and were willing to share their stories of how they find such treasures and how they go about preserving them. A few years ago I attended the Maryland Schoolgirl Samplers exhibit in Baltimore, Maryland and fell in love with the stories behind these pieces. What saddened me was to realize that many of these "treasures" are sold by family members who don't understand the value and time that was put into these samplers by children. The samplers were created as a learning tool that was considered an important household skill; especially amongst certain social classes. Schools were actually ran in towns such as Baltimore where young girls learned lettering and writing along with the essential skill of sewing by labouring on these projects for long periods of time. A sampler usually wasn't meant for display, but usually as a reference guide for the girls to have for the future.

During the afternoon, they brought out samplers which they had recently acquired from private sales, antique dealers, estate sales and other means to so we could look at the condition of the fabrics and fibers. Also I learned alot about how these ladies work to conserve the original pieces and clean them without further damage. Many times, a chart is generated and current flosses are compared to the original so that the color pallet is as near to the original as possible so stitchers can once again create a piece of history. Another lady who works with these designers searches for any genealogical information on the girls (since many of the designs have been signed by the sewer as part of the design) so that some basic information can be pulled together regarding the girl's life. Maryland samplers have the unique distinction of having even African American girls samplers within their numbers; although not many of them exist in comparison.

Over halfway through Winter of the World by Ken Follett and I have decided I will need to pick up more of his novels that have been written previously. He does such a great job of bringing the history of the era into a perspective of the reader being there in some major events which has helped shape this world we live in today.

 

Finally another recipe which the family gave a try. Found this easy version of Ground Beef Wellington on the Taste of Home website.

Preparation took about 20 minutes and I made individual sized meals which reduced the cooking time and helped ensure everything was cooked through. Kids really liked the croissant dough surrounding what essentially was mini meat loafs. Definitely was a fun recipe to follow and a interesting change of pace from the daily grind of dinner preparation. I have included a picture of the Wellinton's coming out of the oven and also a picture of the inside of one with the mushroom sauce (gravy) served on top. So far the kitchen fun of 2013 has been very productive and I'm scouring the web looking for more fun, interesting ideas to put through our family test kitchen. If any of you know of a few good ideas, please let me know.

Stitching right along.....

Okay I have completed another ornament but before you are too impressed let me remind you I had posted on New Years that I was hoping to finish up on the alpine cabin piece. Think I'll probably have a finishing weekend over a long weekend sometime before spring when the weather is bad and I don't feel like going outside. I want to complete the remaining ornaments within this series so I can make sure they are finished together and will match when finished.

 

Since I have finished up the ornaments, I started another of the Prairie Schooler ornaments in the set. The booklet is O Christmas Tree Number 183. I am hoping to finish up all 4 of the 12 Days of Christmas ornaments so I can finish them together this year.

To say “Thank you” to all the wonderful folks who responded to my last post is a huge understatement. I was blown away by how supportive and complimentary the posts were and I have to say it made my day. Putting together that post was very hard but I think therapeutic in its own way and then to realize all of you took the time to read it and put such nice comments was just a very special moment. I do have one other comment to share from Diane Williams the designer of Little House Needleworks which I must admit bring a really silly smile to my face every time I read it. Here is the email I received:

Dear Carol,

I read the email with a lump in my throat.  My goodness. . . .. you've been through so much and that little design went through it with you.  I am happy that you have come to a place where the design reminds you of happier times and fond memories you had with your mom.  We can't travel the road indefinitely with our parents but we can find beautiful ways to keep them with us always.

 

God Bless.

Diane

I wanted to show you the back of my Starlight Sampler I finished on Saturday. I think it is one of the best pieces I've ever completed and I can't wait to see if framed. I’m seriously considering putting a copy of my last blog on the back of the framed Starlight Sampler as some of you suggested. Of course, I have all sorts of UFOs to choose from so I guess I'll sit down at that point with my "Bag of Shame" and see which project needs to see the light of day again.

 

One project I’ve been working on again is Innocent Guardian and slowly making progress on this. My dilemma is should I pull out another UFO and work on it as well or should I stick to this as “the UFO”? I also need to find a good contact number for Dimensions because I think I might need additional thread of the one color and I have the code information but I’ve sent one email and never received a response. If any of you folks have any information or ideas, please let me know. Thanks!

I have been making some small progress on Dragon Dreams and I am very happy with the colors and how they are playing against the fabric I had picked out. I am so in love when the way Joan Elliott uses a color pallet in her stitching designs!

Now I do have a wonderful surprise I received from Sue V for a Secret Sister exchange I realized I haven't shared a picture of yet. She spoiled me rotten and I think this will be a start sometime in 2013 since it has been something I have wanted for a while... Perhaps the 1^st of February I’m thinking or during the Superbowl.

 

Another wonderful surprise I received just 2 days ago was a lovely stitched bookmark by Glenna. After having a very hard day at work, nothing can bring a smile to your face faster than to receive such a sweet letter and a stitched surprise.

 

 

Well I think that is about it for this update. I'm participating in a online stitch-a-long this weekend from a Facebook group and I'll be pulling out the Musician again! :) This will be the first stitching on this project in 2013 and I'm hoping to make some good progress on this Joan Elliott design. Wish me luck!

The Journey of a Stitching Project

Today I finished a stitching project that I've had for 4 years. Seems a little long when you look at that simple statement; but this project has been through a lot of life with me during that time. You see, I started this project one night when I was rushing out the door in September 2008 to take my Mom to the hospital. I had recently been to my Local Needlework Shop to pick out the fabrics and threads, I grabbed it along with my needle pack and scissors and was out the door. Everyone knows the emergency room wait takes forever and what better way to pass the time than with needle and thread? Any stitcher can tell you how people will smile and watch you working away while they either wonder why bother or isn't that neat ~ they didn't think people did that kind of stuff anymore.

Throughout the course of the next couple of months it seemed this little project made the same frantic flight to the hospital with me and my Mom until December 16, 2008; which made a difference in all of our lives. That day I stood clutching this little scrap of fabric in my hand while the doctor informed me Mom had suffered a major heart attack and that while the chances were slim, he had called for a helicopter transport to rush her to Washington DC's National Heart Center to see what could be done for her. It caught a couple of tears as he gently informed me that it was best if I called any of our family that would want to be in route to there because she may not make it. This little stitching project was stuffed unceremoniously in my stitching bag as I went in the room with the doctor and my Mom to break the news to her that her heart was seriously damaged and to tell her I had to get on my way to meet her there.

The next day it was taken along to another hospital to be worked with while I waiting through several grueling hours waiting to see if Mom would make it through the quintuple bypass surgery that would be required to save her life. That surgery only took about 7 1/2 hours but it seemed like a lifetime and making these little x's in fabric helped keep my sanity through that wait. When the doctor came out and told us she had pulled the surgery but would be on life support until the shock to her system had passed, my hands shook so uncontrollably I could hardly undo the hoop which I had been using.

Throughout the next 2 weeks, I sat in Washington with my Mom watching her long, slow return from the brink of death with this little stitching project to pass the time. Sometimes it hit the floor when an alarm would go off or she would call out for someone to hold her hand. Eventually she noticed me working on this little project and she sat and looked at it and we talked about how nice it would look in the camper when we went traveling again after her recovery. She would reach out and touch the stitches and remark how nice it was looking but how long it took to make something out of such small x's.

When Mom returned home, I came home to stay with her for a while to make sure she was okay and had everything she needed. This little stitching project came along although it didn't get much attention; there was so much to do and when I did sit down I barely would start and could feel my eyes shutting for sleep.

Then in March 2009, this little stitching project was put away for a long time. I had just buried my Mom and while the world seemed like it would end, I knew it wouldn't. However, I couldn't bear to look at this little cabin without tears springing to my eyes. How could everything end the way it did when I had so patiently and carefully been there every step of the way to ensure my Mom's health? Had I failed somewhere? What had I missed? Had I been stitching on this little piece of fabric and not been paying attention to something that had gone wrong?

Throughout the next few years, I would pull this project out and start to work on it only to remember the pain and the hopelessness and quickly it would be packed away again. Out of sight and out of mind. Eventually the winter of the heart passed and spring could bloom again. Every grief eventually gives away to remembrances of happier times and joy can return to one's life. Sometimes it takes longer than others but as they say hope springs eternal.

I promised myself I would finish this piece; it would be a remembrance of what all I learned throughout this process. While it was hard to learn to stand up for myself; to lose a parent and to learn you have to make your way through life without them; you can do it. Life continues and while you miss those loved ones that have passed, they helped shape the person you are today.

Now I look at this piece and realize the verse has a lot of meaning. "Stars light up the heaven when evening draws near guiding thy travels til sunlight appears"...... I like to think the stars are my Mom & Dad, Grandma & Grandpop, Granny & Poppy, Aunt Virginia & Uncle George and Aunt Laura & Uncle Roland. Some of these stars I never met and some I barely remember, but I imagine they are still up there helping set the course of my life.

I have tucked away my project bag with the tattered pattern inside. Now the stitching project is completed and will be making it's way to the LNS to be framed. The journey of this stitching project has been completed, but the reminder of the times and the lessons learned will be remembered every time I see it.

Happy New Year 2013

I had the best of intentions to keep up with things in December; however I forgot that between two middle school students, a Boy Scout, winter concerts for orchestra and chorus, applying for the IB programme for high school next year and just the general hubbub that comes with the preparations of the holidays that I barely had a chance to sit down, let alone stitch or keep up a blog.

However, today turns a new leaf and a new year. For our family New Year's Day is generally a quiet day since the next day everyone returns to work or school and daily life returns. Christmas was very good this year and I enjoyed a great time with friends and family. One present I received is a Nikon CoolPix S6300 which makes keeping up with blog updates a little easier since I don't have to pull out the professional grade camera for a quick point and shoot. Don't get me wrong, I love my professional camera, but for day-to-day events it is nice to have something I can slip into my purse. I'm hoping this makes it easier to keep progress reports going on things and keep myself motivated as well. I spent some time the morning of New Year's Eve playing with my camera during the sunrise. Here is a few shots I took:

 

Christmas at the house in Severn held special meaning to me this year. I have fond memories of the holidays in this house since 1978 and this year marked the first Christmas celebrated here since I bought the house. I enjoyed decorating the yard with all the trappings we had from previous years and seeing the excitement Ray expressed when he realized there is a lot more yard and an opportunity to expand our light display. Not sure if I'll enjoy the electric bills, but first things first we need to look into upgrading the electrical feed to the house and add outside electric sockets to the front of the house to make decorating easier. Also I want to run a dedicated electrical circuit for the camper so we don't have to worry about overloading anything. The other exciting thing was bringing in my tree which I had bought a few years ago and have been wondering ever since if it would fit in the living room. Just barely by the time the star was added but it made an impressive sight sitting in front of the picture window.

Stitching progress hasn't been as impressive as I would have liked but I do have some progress pictures and hopefully after completing this update tonight and another hour or so of stitching my 1st completion of the year. I have two other ornaments which just have minimal back stitching to complete them as well. All of these designs are from Prairie Schooler and is being completed on 32 count Sage Joblean with DMC threads.

Becky's Dragon Dreams have been making some progress and I'm planning on concentrating on this after the ornaments are completed. I had to order a Krenik braid and another thread which my LNS didn't carry and of course that was what I needed for the head of my dragon. Now that I have all my supplies, stitching on this should go a lot easier.

Of course, I had to sit down the other day while waiting for a meeting and look through the 2012 JCS ornament book and I found about 20 designs in there I would love to make. Thinking I will try and do at least one a month (including one this month yet) to add to my collection. As I finish up work on the basement, it will mean another tree and then I'll definitely need to add to my collection of decorations. I also am hopeful to pick up the Musician this week and start working on making her a completion sometime in 2013. I haven't really decided to do any of the stitching challenges of starting a new design each day, right now I have more than enough to complete and enjoy.


Also I have lots of books to read. As someone posted to me on Facebook the other day, "If only reading burned more calories, I'd be scary skinny in no time." Right now I'm reading a huge book by Ken Follett called Winter of the World.

Tried a new recipe from Betty Crocker this evening on the family since and it appears that it is a keeper. The recipe was found on the Internet and was very easy to follow. Yea/Nay meals are something I hope to continue with in 2013 since it gives the family something new to enjoy and changes up dinners from being the same old meals day in and day out.

Is it the end of November already????

I had meant to have a post out here last weekend, but life just got in the way as it sometime it tends to do. I have been stitching like a fiend however, so I have lots of things to share and some info on yet a soon-to-be-started-project (for a good reason, keep reading and you'll see). Thanksgiving was very good this year, very quiet but plentiful food and a chance to reflect on life and realizing that family isn't always the blood ties which bind. I have met so many amazing, quirky (hey I'm quirky, so don't be offended!), kind-hearted, fun-loving people of the course of my life that I can count on when times get tough. I fixed the dinner of a 18 pound turkey full of homemade stuffing, oyster dressing on the side, sweet potato casserole, homemade mashed potatoes with fresh gravy, , glazed carrots, pickled beets, and cranberry sauce. Also I had pumpkin pie (tradition!), brownies and a new item Pineapple Banana Hummingbird Cake which is a recipe I found in the Sunday circular coupon section. It turned out to be a 'keeper' and I thoroughly enjoyed hearing all the compliments on it. The only "modification" I did was I made 3 large loaf pans and of course that changed the baking time some. Of course, I am not a "Brand Name Snob" so the brands have been removed to protect the innocent and your pocket......

What You Will Need:
1 pkg. (2-layer size) yellow cake mix
1 pkg. (3.4 oz.) Vanilla Flavor Instant Pudding Pie Filling
4 Eggs
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 can (20 oz.) Crushed Pineapple juice drained and 1 cup reserved
2 medium,ripe bananas, well mashed (1 cup)
1/2 cup chopped Pecans
For the Icing:
2 oz. Cream Cheese
1 tablespoon of Milk
1/2 cup powdered sugar
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350
Combine cake mix,dry instant pudding,reserved pineapple juice, eggs, oil and cinnamon in a large bowl with mixer 2 minutes or until blended. Add crushed pineapple,bananas, and nuts; mix just until blended. POUR prepared batter into 5 foil mini loaf pans sprayed with nonstick cooking spray. Bake 40 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool completely. DRIZZLE Cream Cheese glaze over cooled loaves and garnish with additional chopped pecans, if desired.

Musician Front as of 11/30/2012

Onto our stitching news....... The Musician has been coming along swimmingly and is now under 9 thousand stitches to be completed. Especially since I decided that the outside rose border is going to be nixed because it seems to be just a little over the top for my personal taste and so I think that I will have the framer hand-paint a few tasteful roses on the matting when it is framed. Since the 24th of November I have completed 1000+ stitches on this piece! Of course, I have included a picture of the back for those fellow stitchers who put value in neatness. Hopefully my backing is looking organized.


The Muscian Back
Progress as of 30 November 2012

I realized the other day, I hadn't shown a picture of the ornaments I have been working on yet. The first is almost done but I had my needle threaded with a color and only a few stitches on the first ornament in the color and was waiting in the doctor's office when a lady was asking me how you cross stitched. So I decided to show her from the beginning so started the 2nd. Need to take less than an hour to finish up the first one and the 2nd could be completed pretty quickly too. Thinking I might take some time this weekend and do just that.


Prairie Schooler
10-12th Days of Christmas

Prairie Schooler
6-8th Days of Christmas

Also my UFO, Starlight Sampler, had some progress too. I can't help but think about Mom every time I pick up the needle on this piece but it is good memories. Do you have any pieces which causes you to think of someone when you see it? I love that about our hobby..... I'm making it a goal to finish this off before the end of the year and to pick out another UFO from the pile to add to my rotation.

 

 

Speaking of rotation....... I found something that just screamed B-E-C-K-Y when I saw it. Actually, a co-worker, Sara, pointed out the design to me and the epiphany hit me the other day in regards to making it as a graduation present. I'm thinking that I'll add a line saying something like "May all your dreams come true in life" or something to that effect. Any all all ideas in this front is welcome and hopefully I can come up the perfect sentiment to embellish on it. The design is a Joan Elliott freebie of a dragon you can see here called Dragon Dreams. Becky loves dragons so the minute I saw this I knew this would have to be for her and the price is right!. I picked out some 32 count hand-dyed Sand Castle Jobelan fabric for this and have the DMC ready to go. Figuring I can start working on it at the beginning of 2013 and should have plenty of time to finish it in time for June. Here is the colors tossed on the fabric to give you an idea so please send me your ideas for a sentiment or other thoughts.

Well, that is about all for this week. Until next time, keep your stitchin' and knittin' needles going, spend time with friends and family, and most of all, enjoy life!

~ Carol